A recent significant advancement in the field of combustion is the recirculation combustion process, particularly applicable to the incineration of hazardous waste, invented by Dr. Min-Da Ho and disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,371. By means of this recirculation process, combustion is carried out with a very even gas temperature distribution resulting in high efficiency combustion with low NO.sub.x generation.
One problem with moderate and even gas temperature distribution is that it may take a significant space to pass sufficient heat from the combustion reaction to the charge such as solid and/or liquid waste. An evenly high gas temperature distribution would create excessively hot flue gas, low fuel efficiency, high gas flow rate and high particulate carryover. Combustion processes generating high heat flux are known, but they are characterized by the creation of hot spots and the difficulty in controlling solid discharge temperatures. Another common problem of conventional processes is the entrainment of a large amount of particulate matter. Furthermore, the hot spots and generally uneven heating tend to generate large amounts of nitrogen oxides (NO.sub.x).
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a combustion method which can rapidly transfer a large amount of heat to a charge, such as waste, while avoiding potential overheating and the release of excessive amounts of pollutants, such as NO.sub.x and particulate matter, into the atmosphere.